The Wild Hunt

Wolf drew his silver sword and looked around the forest warily. His mission was to track down the demon who went by "Elrich" and was right on his tail. Wolf had chased him into this damned forest and he was going to leave with Elrich's head, one way or another. Having lost sight of the demon, he clutched his medallion and glimpsed around him. Wolf had now detected the dirty creature's dark energy..and he then smirked.

He ran into a sprint towards the energy source, ducking under all the branches and jumping over the vines. After a minute, Wolf caught sight of the demon's top hat. He laughed to himself and charged after him, not exactly knowing what tricks this being had up his sleeves... or in his top hat, rather.

He felt it. A thousand years since he had been here last, and the terrain had changed vastly, and yet Elrich still knew he was headed in the right direction.  The primal dark energy could be felt by even a novice necromancer.  His eyes trailed up in the afternoon heat, past an army of trees brush.  Far off in the distance, Elrich's violet eyes could make out a dark mist rising from a cave. This is where he would trap his prey.

Elrich tilted his head to the side, looking behind him and smirking.  The foreign energy signature that had been trailing him was closing in on him, at just the opportune time. Elrich had never felt such a foreign energy, so it intrigued him.  A man with ashen hair and yellow eyes, an unusual sight, even for one as well traveled as myself. He wields the ability to manipulate magic, as well as superhuman strength and reflexes.  This could an interesting specimen, and a fallback should all else fail... For a moment, Elrich's vision shifted to a different scene, a moment of massacre and death.  He looked down to his chest and saw a demonic spear protruding from his chest.  His hands wrapped around the shaft of the spear, feeling his warm sticky blood spray all over his forearms.  With hopeless abandon, he tried to pull the spear from his chest, his arms shaking violently, his breathing ragged and hurried.  

Suddenly, a black flash exploded from in front of him, and before him stood... himself.  Elrich was shocked, how could he possibly be under attack, from himself?  He couldn't move, his muscles had grown a thousand pounds heavier.  He couldn't breathe, he couldn't blink, he could nothing but meet his own gaze.  The Elrich that stood in front of him was devoid of emotion, a killing machine.  There was no remorse, no recognition of activity in those empty eyes.  The Elrich that stood before him raised up a pure black blade and brought it down, slicing his neck clean and decapitating him.

Elrich blinked and shook his head for a moment, drawing himself back to reality.  He sighed, and looked down at the palm of his left hand.  His veins were filled with pure darkness, causing them to appear black and bulge out unnaturally.  His demonic appearance was beginning to be more prominent, it wouldn't be long before he couldn't control it anymore.  He had been having flashbacks, all of them of his victims, back in a darker time of his past.  Elrich knew that it only meant one thing, and the frequency of these "attacks" was disconcerting.  He would definitely have to consult someone on this, but after he dealt with the issue at hand.  

Elrich closed his eyes, and felt his energy latch out a bit in all directions, reaching out towards the energy source that was trailing him.  Elrich felt his mind enter within the dark reaches of his pursuers, connecting thoughts long enough to send a message.  "You have done well to track me this far, monster slayer... I shall reward you with a fight.  I hope you are prepared, young one. If not, your soul belongs to me."

Wolf shook his head and continued onward. The threat from this beast was of no concern to the witcher. He grinned and spoke back to his mind. "Your mind games amuse me, too bad you won't be able to play them much longer.." Wolf had felt a surge of adrenaline rush through his body as the hunt came closer to end for one of them.

The witcher then jumped out from the brushes and smirked as he pressed his silver sword against the creature's neck. He watched his every move, for he knew he would have something up his sleeve.... All the monsters have something. Wolf spoke with satisfaction, "Nowhere to run now, Elrich"

Elrich couldn't help but laugh. At first, it was a chuckle, which escalated further until Elrich was nearly doubled over, tears ready to fall down his cheeks.  This inferior creature, equipped with simple spells, limited swordplay, and a silver sword, thought he had sufficient skill to challenge him? "I admire your spirit, child.  Unfortunately, it takes more than strong will to defeat me." Elrich smiled, and faded into the shadows, disappearing from sight.  He would then rematerialize a few meters away, at the entrance of the cave.  Elrich placed on hand on the smooth white rock, using the other hand to beckon this witcher closer to him.  He felt the black mist exuding from the cave slowly swirl around him, would the young monster hunter fall for his trap?

The witcher hung his head and sighed out of exhaustion. He looked up and saw the demon standing by entrance of the cave. Wolf smirked to himself as he saw the mist envelop the creature.

He then crouched to the ground and drew a sign of Yrden in the dirt. He smirked to himself as he drew the sign, hoping the beast would step upon it and become paralyzed. The witcher then sheathed his sword and walked back to a tree, leaning against the trunk and folding his arms over his chest. "It's amusing how much of a fool you take me for," Wolf called out. "I'll be waiting for you here."

Elrich could only shake his head.  Does this "professional" take me for a fool? Elrich reached his left hand into his right jacket sleeve, revealing a sleek black dagger.  He smirked and twirled the dagger between his fingers for a moment, keeping his gaze with the trained killer.  "It's wonderful that you can play with magic spells and seals, but unfortunately for you, I am not a moron.  I seem to remember that you were hunting me, yes? Then perhaps you should come and get me." With a lazy shrug, Elrich turned and walked into the cave, tossing the dagger into his Yrden seal and setting it off.

Elrich felt the power of the darkness empower him further with every step he took into the cave.  He saw the ancient demonic text etched into the walls, a warning to all who were taught in the ways of reading the ancient language.  Of course, when Elrich had first been here, had ignored the warnings out of simple ignorance.  He had never known that the one decision he had made in this cave would change his life so drastically.  He approached the makeshift altar, and turned to sit on the edge of it. He closed his eyes and began to channel the dark energy within him. If his prey wouldn't follow him in, he would move on.

Wolf laughed at himself and was impressed at the creature. He pushed himself off the tree and walked over to the dagger in the ground. He again grinned down at the dagger and looked back up at the entrance of the cave. He knew Elrich had the upper hand, and that was what made him so uncomfortable about this hunt.

The witcher then approached the cave entrance. He drew both of his swords this time and made his way down the cave. His enhanced sight allowed Wolf to see clearly in the dark. As he made his way through the cave, he examined all the writing along the wall. He thought he had seen every monster but... but this one was a different case. Finally, Wolf had reached Elrich and examined him cautiously. He adjusted his stance, ready for a fight just in case. Nothing was ordinary anymore to the witcher, so he had to prepare for the worst. "I'll take it, then, that this is your cozy little home."

With a wave of his hand, the darkness in the cave coalesced, materializing and becoming a physical wall of matter at Elrich's command.  He motioned lazily towards the entrance of the cave, watching out of the corner of his eye as the darkness formed a thick black wall.  He then began to constantly channel his energy into the darkness around him, making it so nobody could shadowstep into this chamber, even if anyone could sense their presence. He was not going to be interrupted, not yet anyway.

Elrich regarded the creature standing before him with a cautious interest.  He didn't feel at all threatened, especially not in his own chamber.  Instead, Elrich faded into the darkness once again, appearing just behind the young witcher.  He glided effortlessly in circles around the monster hunter, telepathically speaking to him once again. "Tell me, what exactly are you? Were you human once? What is your story, and why is it that you chase me?"  Elrich awaited a response, ready for a possible attack, yet not overly threatened by the lesser creature standing before him.

Wolf glared at the darkness circling around and was done with his tricks. He grit his teeth and clutched the hilts of his swords even tighter. "And why should I tell you?"

"Because, I'm curious about you. Sate my curiosity, otherwise I just kill you and move onto the next possible prospect." Elrich appeared back on the altar, staring up to the ceiling of the cave. "What is your end goal, what do you want with this life?"

He looked back up to altar with a smirk. "And what if I would like to know more about you, hm? I don't exactly recognize what tongue your cave writing is in, and believe me, I've seen a lot." He paused and then asked another question, "How did you know about my signs too, since you claim you don't know what I am," he asked with a huge grin across his face.

Elrich smiled, and tipped his top hat towards the young monster hunter. "How astute of you to notice. I am not familiar with your specific skillset, nor am I familiar with the language in which your seals are written, yet I am familiar with the general application of magic, and I use my own seals. I wasn't quite sure what that seal did, which is why I threw a dagger at it, there is no such thing as being too cautious." Elrich then motioned to the script littered across the cavern walls. "And the language that you cannot decipher is ancient. Much more ancient than all mortal dialects. This language has existed since near the beginning of shade itself. It is an ancient warning, for an artifact far more dangerous than anything you've ever wielded. Worry not, the artifact is long gone now." That last part was only partially true, yet the young witcher didn't need to know that. Not yet. "Now answer my question, what are you? Human?"

The witcher nodded based on what the demon said. He thought it was odd though he would even tell him that last part.. Although the demon was vague, he still actually responded to the witcher, and so he would do the same.

"You can.. sort of say that. We go by Witchers now, but yes, I am human. Mutated though from several potions and experiments."

"A... witcher? That is what you said?" Elrich frowned. He had never come face to face with a witcher before. He didn't know the limitations of a witcher, and the unknown always fascinated him. "Genetic mutations, experimentation... intriguing. My next question, what is your goal? Why have you forsaken your life in your reckless pursuit of myself?" Elrich grinned, the not-so-subtle threat hanging in the air as thick as the darkness in the cave.

"Indeed, a witcher." Wolf was partially happy that he had disappointed Elrich. His disappointment could only mean one thing for himself; he would have the upper hand should things go down... hopefully.

However, for some odd reason, the witcher couldn't help but laugh at his last question. Maybe it was because he felt like the demon was getting desperate for answers, or maybe just laughing at the present situation was all Wolf could do. He responded, "Witchers are monster and demon hunters. I'm guessing you could figure out why I came here based off that."

Elrich leaped off from the altar, landing gracefully on his feet, and slowly began walking towards Wolf.  As the distance between them closed, Elrich reached with his left hand down to the sheathed weapon on his right hip.  In a fluid motion, he drew his sword, a beautifully adorned pale blade, the metal untarnished.  In the light, the blade would shine with unparalleled beauty, for it was just as much a work of art as it was a deadly weapon.  Elrich then flourished his blade, gliding the weapon through the air as a conductor would his baton.  Elrich was not controlling an orchestra, however; what bent to his will was the darkness in the cave.  He felt the shadows in the room respond to his command, every ebb and flow of shadow was bent to his will.  He twirled his blade, and watched as a cyclone of darkness began to swirl around the young witcher.  The intensity of the raging darkness caused the cave to shake significantly, and Elrich made sure to take note.  He didn't need to be killing the witcher, not yet anyway.

When Elrich spoke, it was within the reaches of Wolf's mind.  This time, he spoke with pure malice.  He allowed some of his own foul madness to seep through into Wolf's consciousness.  "If you are going to kill me, then first you are going to understand me."  He then flooded Wolf's thoughts with a thousand years of torment, in an instant.  A symphony of demonic wails filled the entire chamber, as if every victim that Elrich had claimed was crying for retribution at once.

Elrich showed Wolf scene after scene of warfare, from Elrich's perspective.  In some cases, the battles took place in familiar landscapes across Earth.  Other, more violent scenes followed as well, such as Elrich leading an army of demons to slaughter entire cities.  Finally, Elrich showed Wolf the trials that he was put through in Hell, a thousand years of servitude to the Demon King.  Without a will of his own, Elrich had been the personal monster of the Demon King.  Innocent lives, taken brutally and without pause.  Time and time again, Elrich showed no mercy, no matter who it was that was begging and groveling at his feet.  "You do not know what you have stumbled upon, Wolf."

After a few minutes of this, when Elrich was satisfied that Wolf had seen enough.  Elrich swung his blade down to his side.  The twisting darkness morphed once again, this time collapsing onto Wolf's body.  Elrich applied enough pressure onto the darkness to immobilize the demon hunter.  With a foul grin, Elrich lifted his blade to the witcher's throat. "Do you yet understand the futility of your actions?  You cannot destroy me, especially not in my domain." Elrich chuckled, and slowly paced around Wolf until he stood behind him.  "Of course, there is an alternative course of action, should you be interested.  I suggest you take that, it would be such a waste to spill your blood here."

Wolf knew he would be in for some treat now as he watched the beast walk towards him. He noticed the blade which he drew, and he readied his stance once more out of caution. But to his surprise, the demon didn't attack. Instead he decided to toy with Wolf even more, playing with his magic and waving his sword like a wand. The darkness hadn't frightened him, yet. Elrich's goal seemed only to scare the witcher, which he was very well aware of at this point.

Wolf then felt a sharp pain, almost immobilized, as the thoughts flooded him. He was almost reluctant to pay attention to these images, but he had to know more of Elrich if he was to ever defeat him. The odd thing was, though, Wolf was starting to admire his strength and his brutality to some degree. But the witcher agreed with Elrich, he had no clue what he had run into.

He then watched as Elrich swung his sword downward, at first not knowing what it meant. Wolf then felt all the darkness start to restrain him. He couldn't move a muscle, and no matter how much strength he used, it was to no avail. When he heard Elrich speak his last words, he laughed inside his head. He knew that Elrich would not kill him. No, if he wanted to have killed the witcher, he could have done it from the very beginning. Wolf was interested now what the demon had to say, so he nodded and spoke himself. "If you wanted to kill me, you could have done it from the very beginning, so I know you wouldn't do that." He replied with a grin. "But do tell me, what is this alternate way in which you have provided me?"

If nothing else, Elrich couldn't help but admire the character of the witcher, even in the face of certain peril.  Nevertheless, it would take more than a strong front to impress him.  "I offer a second chance at life.  At this moment, your life is forfeit to me.  If you so wish, you may yet walk out of this cave, but only if you play by my rules.  Do you think you could handle that, witcher? Could you listen to an old demon, lost in time?"  Elrich smirked again, running his right hand along the brim of his worn top hat.  "Oh, and do make your decision quickly.  There is much to do, and if I must dispose of you, I'd rather just get along with it."

"A second chance, huh," Wolf replied sarcastically. He was skeptical at first, but he didn't have a choice. The witcher realized that he was trapped in a cave with someone more powerful than him, so really he had only one option. Wolf also wasn't sure about this offer. He had always run on mission and hunts alone, and never with another person, especially a demon who he was supposed to kill. But once again, if he wanted to live, he would have to submit. "All right, Elrich. I'll agree to your terms, but make no mistake, I am no slave of yours. Nor will I be your pet."

Elrich smiled and nodded. He got the answer he was looking for.  Elrich patted his new accomplice on the back, and then brought his left hand up to the witcher's left shoulder.  He began to channel mass amounts of dark energy into the palm of his left hand, concentrating heavily as the darkness in the cave began to converge on the action.  Elrich was using the darkness from the cave to forge a seal on Wolf's body, insurance just in case the young man wouldn't want to cooperate.  Within a few moments, a strange circular seal within the ancient demonic text circling it was left on the back of Wolf's left shoulder, and Elrich felt the seal complete.  He removed his hand, and waved the darkness off of the witcher, allowing him to fall to the floor on his own will.

Elrich knew that he couldn't linger much longer.  He had expended a good portion of his energy making that seal, so he could no longer secure the chamber.  Those that knew teleportation techniques, such as the shadowstep, would be able to enter the cave freely now.  And with the amount of energy that he had just expended, Elrich knew that he would most certainly attract unwanted attention.  He knew that the sooner they left this cave, the better.  Elrich crouched down next to Wolf, and tilted Wolf's head so that they made eye contact.  "Splendid, I'm happy we came to such a wondrous outcome.  Yet, with all the excitement, we are surely to be interrupted by someone or something much more fearsome than a white-haired monster hunter.  So, shall we be on? Any place you'd like to visit?" Elrich chuckled a bit.  His madness knew no bounds.

Wolf looked over his shoulder to Elrich and nodded. He felt a slight sting on the back of his shoulder, at first not knowing what it was. He then looked around the cave to see the darkness move over him and behind him. After the darkness fell around him though, he collapsed onto his hands and knees on the floor. His left shoulder felt sore as he sat up and looked at Elrich. Though he was free from his restrains, the witcher still was getting used to to his current state. He shrugged at him and looked around. "Wherever you seem fit, I suppose. You seem quite eager to leave, though.."

Elrich grabbed his new companion by the shoulder, and pulled him a bit closer to him.  He motioned to the seal that he had just branded on Wolf.  "That little seal just lit us up like a flare. Anyone who has the affinity to sense magical energy would have felt that, and there are some things I would not prefer to have stumble upon us." Elrich then lifted his arm towards the exit of the cave, offering for the young witcher to go first.  "Now come, come. There is much to do, sights to see, people to kill."  Elrich smiled and laughed to himself.  If he didn't think that I was mad before, he must surely realize it by now.  However, Elrich still didn't feel right.  Something was off, he just couldn't sense what it was.  He didn't feel uneasy often, and knew to respect his instincts.  They had saved him on multiple occasions, this wasn't something to ignore.  

As the pair began to exit the cave, Elrich slid his shimmering white blade back into the sheath resting on his hip, the blade completely silent as it fell into place.  He then closed his eyes and reached out with his senses.  He was feeling for any powerful energies, anything that may want to investigate the sudden expenditure of power.  At the moment, he felt nothing, but one can never be too careful.  After he was satisfied with that, Elrich went deeper inward, to the darkness inside of him.  He attuned himself with the Shadow Realm, and as the two walked further away from the cave, he was feeling to see if anyone was probing around there either.  Elrich had too many friends in the dark, if anything used the shadowstep technique to get to their location, Elrich would know about it first.  The only drawback to this was that those who knew how to look for Elrich's energy signature would sense it immediately, so he was essentially broadcasting his location to those who knew him.  He turned to Wolf, a look of distraction apparent on his face.  "So, what all can you do? What is your skillset?"

Wolf had rolled his left shoulder. It still felt a sore, but there was not much he could do about it. He didn't even ask for the seal in the first place, but this demon seemed to desire control of him, which Wolf wasn't fond of. "Maybe a seal wasn't such a good idea then," he said as he walked out of the cave with Elrich. The witcher looked over at him and noticed something was off. He seemed worried, perhaps even paranoid of what was around. Wolf was then caught off guard by Elrich's question. How much was he willing to tell the demon? They had just met, and before they were about to kill each other. However, if he was bonded to Elrich now then he might as well tell him about witchers... just maybe not all of it. "Well, I can cast a few spells... I'm good with a sword, and all my senses are enhanced, including sight, scent, speed, all that stuff." He wasn't going to the demon that his medallion was his greatest ally, for it would always warn him of magic, spells, or monsters nearby. Not yet.

Pitch blackness. That's what surrounded Damon entirely as if he was in a coffin that had shut him off from the world. He felt weightless, staring at what was utterly nothing. There wasn't anything for his senses to register until he sensed a distant yet familiar energy. It suddenly came to him as if this person was attempting to draw attention. Yet the energy itself felt disgusting, its allegiance lying with death itself. Yet this energy felt satisfying, drawing Damon's interest towards it as the blackness around him surged with radiating light pulsing throughout it. This thing was drawing him towards it like a moth to a flame as the blackness suddenly contracted on itself, spiraling into what came to be a black hole in the middle of his chest. But as the blackness receded, it revealed nature around him, yet Damon was moving across the ground so swiftly. He was moving through the shadows of the various objects around him, closing in the distance on the person until Damon began to piece together who this person could be. As he came to a stop, he climbed out of the shadows of the person that drew his interest. Damon's eyes took a moment to adjust to his surroundings and the person in front of him. It had been ages since he last walked on the very Earth. His first footstep caused him to stumble a bit, but as he regained his composure he turned to look directly at the figure, slowly grinning as he finally made out the person before him.

He sensed him travelling through the dark voids of nothing.  A presence he hadn't felt since... With a grin on his face, Elrich turned to face Wolf.  "Ah, it looks as if our worst fears have been confirmed.  An old friend is converging on our position.  Do not attempt to challenge him, we've just got you where we need you to be, it would be quite a waste for him to kill you now.  He may leave me nothing left to work with."

Elrich knew exactly where his old friend would materialize into the world once again, so he simply turned and waited.  He watched as Damon FireDrake grew from the shadows, and felt his overwhelming energy seep out into the world.  The man always knew how to make an entrance.  When Damon was fully formed and standing before him, Elrich removed his top hat and made a low sweeping bow.  "My old friend.  It has been far too long.  Good to see that you are in one piece."  Elrich motioned with the hand holding the top hat towards the witcher.  "This is... well, come to think of it, I've never properly asked your name.  How rude of me."  Elrich turned back towards Damon.  "Needless to say, he will be travelling with me for the time being."

Elrich walked a bit to the nearest clearing, taking a seat on a decomposing log.  The hot sun beat down on all of them, and Elrich felt a bead of sweat slowly roll down the side of his face.  He pulled a black flask from the inside jacket pocket of his suit, removed the stopper, and took a swig of an unknown black liquid.  Elrich made a face, and then turned back towards the other two.  "So, what is it that has brought Damon FireDrake to Africa? I assume it isn't to hunt the exotic game?" Elrich turned and gave Wolf a knowing smile.  "Unless of course, you've also decided that I'm the exotic game."